Summer Daisies
by sharksteeth
Summary: The dirt road was bumpy and uneven, yet the dust was settled. No one had walked down this way for some time.


Disclaimer: I do not own Luna Lovegood or anything else belonging to JK Rowling, including locations and the names of characters or creatures. This is simply fanfiction and only the storyline is mine. I am not receiving any profit from this.  
  
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Summer Daisies  
  
The dirt road was bumpy and uneven, yet the dust was settled. No one had walked down this way for some time. She figured that those living nearby were too busy to go for walks every now and then, and most likely Apparated or used Floo powder to get everywhere instead.  
  
It really was a shame, that no one came down here anymore. The road was lined with shrubs and bushes and small trees, with large patches of white daisies and little clovers scattered throughout. She often picked a bouquet of them, making sure to leave plenty for everyone else, and her father let her make a centerpiece for the kitchen table or a nice arrangement for the window sill.  
  
Today she felt like making something different. She plucked a few daisies from the ground, made tiny holes in each of the stems, and strung herself a tiara. She placed it on top of her head, where it complimented the gold in her hair, and took off her sandals. Barefoot was better.  
  
She crossed the wide dirt road and skipped down a grass-covered hill which lined a small forest. She entered the forest and said hello to the chipmunks and the birds, and the Crumple-Horned Snorkacks which she couldn't see, but knew were there. She ran across the soft bed of the forest, and soon emerged to find herself in front of a small stream.  
  
She loved the river. All the rocks that lined it so nicely, and the fact that you had to go through all those tall, beautiful trees to get to it. She liked the sound and the look of it. The bubbling of the stream often rang in her ears long after she'd returned home, and she loved the way the water ran over the rounded pebbles and stones, changing shape as the ground beneath it varied so.  
  
She edged toward the water, and let her toes touch the cool liquid. It felt nice, after being in the warm summer sun the whole day. She lifted the thin, pale yellow dress she was wearing up above her ankles - her mother had bought it for her, and she wouldn't like it to get wet - and walked in. She stood for a moment, letting the water wash over her feet and ankles. She closed her eyes and lifted her head toward the sky, and smiled. It had been such a good day, and she was glad it wasn't over quite yet. She still had the whole afternoon to stay here before going home to help her father prepare dinner.  
  
She opened her eyes, sandals in one hand and dress in the other, and began to walk and skip through the water, careful not to slip on the rocks. She went about this for a few minutes, having a wonderful time and humming a tune to herself, until she heard a noise.  
  
A twig had snapped. She smiled and went back to her dancing in the stream.  
  
The noise continued, growing louder and nearer to where she was. She heard it, but continued what she was doing. She was sure she already knew who it was.  
  
"Hi."  
  
She'd been right. She turned and faced a boy she knew. A boy she'd only met just last year.  
  
"Hi." She was surprised to find him speaking to her.  
  
"I don't see you here often."  
  
"But does that mean I'm never here?" She went back to her dancing.  
  
"Huh?" He looked a little bit confused, but then showed a bit of a half- smile. "Look... I kind of want to apologize for the last few months."  
  
She stopped abruptly. She turned around and stared. She dropped the skirt of her dress and her sandals splashed into the water. "What?" She couldn't believe this. What was he doing?  
  
"I'm sorry. I've been pretty rotten to you. Harry sort of -- well, he -- kind of told us -- all of us, a little bit about your mother."  
  
"Oh." She looked down at the quickly soaking part of her dress, but did nothing about it.  
  
"You don't mind, do you?"  
  
"No, no I don't." She hadn't blinked, which was normal for her, but this time it was different. "I don't mind that you know... I suppose."  
  
"Um, Ginny wanted to invite you over, but you weren't home, so I offered to come out here and look for you. So... would you like to come over for awhile? Maybe stay for dinner?"  
  
It was a little strange, having the only people she'd ever really socialized with know her secret all of a sudden. 'Well, it's not exactly a secret,' she thought. 'It's just that no one's ever asked about it.' Harry was the only one she ever told; she hadn't even mentioned anything to Ginny Weasley before. And now they were all inviting her over for dinner. She'd never been to a "friend's house". In fact, she'd barely even been to a house other than her own.  
  
"You really want me over?"  
  
"Sure, why not? We can't continue being rude and ignoring you now, not after all your help in the Department of Mysteries, am I right?" He was smiling brightly, and for the very first time he was looking at her while doing it.  
  
She returned the smile, and it suddenly felt right, for them all to know about her family.  
  
"Can my father come?"  
  
"Yeah, if he'd like to. I'm sure my parents would like to meet him, and especially Ginny. She really enjoyed that quiz in the copy of The Quibbler you gave her, she's been making everyone else take it too."  
  
They even shared a chuckle.  
  
"I'll go and get him then, before he decides to make dinner without me."  
  
She bent down in the water, wetting her dress even more, and took the white tiara off of her head. She placed it in the stream, and watched it float away for a moment among the stones and water plants. He did too. She picked up her sandals, and re-entered the forest.  
  
For the first time in her life, she thought about how much fun September was going to be.  
  
And as she left, he sat on the rocks and waited for her and her father to return. 


End file.
